


Where We Go From Here

by Faranzi



Category: Hustle Cat
Genre: Canon Non-Binary Character, Fluff, May/December Relationship, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-11
Updated: 2016-08-18
Packaged: 2018-07-14 11:21:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7168988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Faranzi/pseuds/Faranzi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With Nacht defeated and all curses broken, Avery thought the worst was behind them. Well, that delusion lasted for maybe three seconds. Soon they realise that new challenges await, as they have to help their co-workers deal with their newfound magical abilities, and try to make peace with an ever more irritated Reese. It doesn’t help that they’re also dating their boss, especially since Graves is being his usual cryptic self.<br/>However, greater obstacles lie ahead of them, since Nacht isn’t the only witch-killer around..</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

His lips tasted like coffee, but stronger and sweeter than any cup Avery’s ever had and when he finally kissed them back, it was with an urgency that made their heart go wild. They grabbed his collar even tighter, leaning into the kiss, thinking in the back of their mind that this could go on forever.  
  
But it didn’t.  
  
“Ah.” They felt Graves' breath on their lips as he pulled away with a sigh, felt the warmth of his mouth recede. No fair! For a moment they leaned forward once more, looking for a continuation, their eyes still closed. It couldn’t already be over, if they still got their eyes closed, right?  
  
“Avery,” they heard Graves’ soft, refined voice say. It sounded almost amused and suddenly they were aware that they must look ridiculous, lids still shut tight, lips a little apart, still clinging to his stupid collar cuffs. When they opened their eyes, though, they could see no amusement in his face, only a sad, serious expression and something that reminded Avery of the urgency behind the kiss. It made their lips tingle with the memory.  
  
Unfortunately, it also made them blurt out the first thing that came to their mind.  
“Was it that bad?” It’s not like that was their first kiss! It couldn’t have been that bad.. right?  
  
Graves looked at them a little surprised. There was a hint of a smile on his face that made Avery want to grab him and kiss him again, but then Graves took a step back and let go of their hips.  
“Ah, forgive me, Avery,” he said with another sigh. His usually cold hands, warmed by holding their body tight, now closed around their own hands and gently removed them from his collar. He didn’t look them in the eye, while his thumb caressed their knuckles in an absentminded way. Avery felt like there wasn’t enough air to breathe. God, was he doing that on purpose?!  
Graves’ voice snapped them out of their thoughts. It sounded strained, even more controlled than it normally did, like it took him considerable effort to say the words.  
  
“I.. I really shouldn’t have..”  
What was he talking about? He didn’t even start the kiss! “Like hell you shouldn’t have!”, Avery burst out angrily. That made Graves finally look at them, alright. It was hard to read the expression in his mismatched eyes and before either of them could say anything, they heard the café’s doorbell chime and Landry’s voice trailing over to them.  
  
“Hey, are you guys coming in?” Avery stifled a groan. Dammit, Finley! Didn’t she say she’d give them some ‘alone time’? Graves’ eyes flickered only briefly towards Landry, then they settled back on Avery. His thumb stopped its movement but he didn’t let go of their hands right away.  
“There.. will be time to talk about this. We still have celebrations ahead of us.”  
Celebrations. Yeah, sure. Because they could definitely focus on that while their boss was being his usual cryptic self..  
  
  
They both headed back to the café. At the door Graves stopped to let Avery enter first, lifting his hand as if to gently place it on their back. He didn’t, though. Avery could feel it hovering awkwardly behind them. For a moment they thought about ‘accidentally’ tripping over their feet, so that their stupid gentlemanly goth of a boss had to catch them, but maybe that wasn’t such a great idea with everybody else around.  
  
Landry was standing by the door. Mason and Hayes were probably in the kitchen, and Reese and Finley were nowhere to be seen.  
Landry looked at both of them curiously. Graves murmured an apology and made his way upstairs. Avery watched him climb the stairs but before they could decide whether or not to follow him, Landry spoke to them again: “Hey, are you ok, Avery?” He couldn’t quite hide a worried look on his face. Avery did their best to smile up at him convincingly.  
“Yeah, sure. I’m okay. How are you?”  
Something seemed to pass over Landry’s face. Maybe it was just a flicker from one of the lamps. It was gone in an instant. “I’m.. I’m fine, I guess,” he said, but suddenly he looked preoccupied. Finley approached from the kitchen, which gave Landry an excuse to end the conversation and busy himself with the tables and chairs. Finley rushed towards them with a big grin.  
  
“Sorry, I tried to herd them all into the kitchen but Mason got grumpy and said we were in her way. Reese went downstairs to get the cats but Landry kept wondering where you two…” She stopped when she saw the expression on their face and realised that Graves wasn’t with them. Her not entirely apologetic look made way for concern.  
“What’s wrong, Avery?”  
“Ugh, I don’t know..,” they said with a shrug. “I just.. I thought with Nacht gone and the curse being lifted and all that Graves would stop being so.. you know..” They tried and failed to find the right words.  
“Graves-y?”, Finley tried to help out. They sighed.  
“Yeah, something like that..”  
“Aw, sweety.” Finley’s hug squeezed the air out of their lungs. “I’m sure it’s going to be fine. It’s been a long day for both of you.”  
“Thanks, Finley,” Avery managed to wheeze out. She let go of them and said with a wink:  
“Sure thing. Don’t you worry, this is just part of the slow burn. I have experience in such things.”  
“Err.. alright then,” they said, not entirely sure what she meant.  
  
It was nice of her trying to cheer them up, though, even if it didn’t really work. They kept replaying the scene outside the café: the kiss (that part made their heart flutter every time), Graves’ hands, first on their hips, then his thumb gently caressing their fingers.. and his words. Maybe it was too much to expect Graves to actually say what he wanted to say for once. Where was he anyway? Probably upstairs, taking care of Dracula. Mochi was up there, too, but somehow Avery was pretty sure that it wasn’t a smart move to go upstairs right now.  
  
Instead they had a look around the café. Landry and Finley were both busy (well, Finley was on her phone but that counted as being busy), so Avery went into the kitchen. God, the smell! They really didn’t expect to be hungry right now, but as always just being in the kitchen while Mason was cooking made their stomach rumble. She was standing by the stove, while Hayes was already busying himself with cleaning.  
  
“Hey, guys,” Avery said trying to sound cheerful. “Everything alright with you?”  
Hayes visibly jumped upon hearing their voice and almost dropped a bowl. He was still shaken by what had happened with Nacht, Avery realised with a pang of guilt.  
“Um.. can I help you with anything?”, they asked.  
“Ah, thanks Avery.” Hayes placed the clean bowl carefully on the counter. “I think we’re good, though,” he continued quietly. Mason gave a low “Hm” of agreement. She looked up from her cooking to quickly glance at Avery.  
“You should lie down,” she told them. “Rest. It’s been a rough day.”  
“Yeah.. for all of us,” Avery agreed. They didn’t want to be the only one lying down now, especially since they were the only one not affected by Nacht’s rust.  
  
Their eyes wandered towards the door that led to the basement.  
“Hey, is Reese still down there with the cats? Do you think I should go and help him?”  
Mason turned back to the stove and took her time replying. “He knows how to handle cats,” she finally said. Well that was a weird answer. Avery looked at Hayes but he was suddenly very busy cleaning the countertop.  
“Okay..,” they said slowly. “But I guess it can’t hurt if I go see what he’s up to.”  
Mason didn’t say anything except for another “Hm” but she didn’t stop them either, so Avery went over to the door.  
  
As soon as they opened it a furry shadow darted past him.  
“Hey, Marina!” The cat paid them no mind and rushed for the door leading to the main room of the café. Well, Avery couldn’t really blame her. They wouldn’t want to be locked up in that creepy basement either..  
They went down the creaky steps. Most of the cats were somewhere near the stairs, though some most have gone off exploring. There was no sign of Reese. Avery stopped midway on the stairs. Where was he?  
  
“Reese?”, they called down. Nothing. Then they heard something move and finally Reese’s voice carried up to them: “Yeah, what do you want?” There was something weird in his voice.  
“I just wanted to see if everything’s okay. Can I help you with the cats?”  
He scoffed and when he spoke next, he sounded much more like his usual overconfident self:  
“I can do that by myself, thank you very much. You’d just upset the cats anyway.”  
Not true! They were great with cats, just ask Mochi. Instead of arguing, they took a few more steps down and asked: “Are you sure? You’ve been here for a while now.”  
  
From where they stood now, they could finally see him standing in a corner.  
“Are you okay?”  
“Of course I am,” he said dismissively, stepping out of the shadowy corner and towards the lightbulb that illuminated the room. “Why shouldn’t I be?” He bent down and picked up one of the more complacent cats. Maybe it was just a trick of the light but his eyes seemed suspiciously red. Had he been crying? Well, if he had, Avery couldn’t hold it against him. This entire thing with Nacht had been stressful and scary enough, and they had always suspected that Reese was much more vulnerable underneath that tough exterior.  
“Okay then – I can still help you though,” they offered. “It’ll be faster that way.”  
“I don’t need your help, Avery.” The sudden loudness of his voice completely took them by surprise. A few of the cats flinched, one or two darted into corners. Reese cursed under his breath.  
“Just go back upstairs, yeah? I got this under control.”  
  
Yeah, they could see that. If they had been less tired, less shaken up by all the things that had happened in such a short time span, maybe they would have argued some more. Right now, however, they didn’t feel like they had the energy for that. Maybe it was best for Reese to be left alone right now.  
“Okay, sure. I’ll be upstairs then,” they said, before heading back up.  
  
Hayes and Mason were still busy in the kitchen and when Avery entered the main room of the café again they saw that Landry had finished with the chairs and tables and was now checking the stability of all the little cat ramps he had built throughout the café. He, too, was probably still shaken up by being covered in magical rust. Finley wasn’t there, maybe she’d gone upstairs to grab her laptop. Avery sat down on the couch, feeling a wave of fatigue rush over them. They closed their eyes and dosed off for a little while, only registering at the back of their mind that the door to the kitchen was opened several times, while more and more cats were led back into the café.  
  
  
Finally, they heard Landry’s voice somewhere above them.  
“Hey, Avery. Dinner’s ready. Come on.” They opened their eyes to see him smiling down at them before he went over to the tables to take a seat. Finley and Reese were already sitting, and Graves was there, too, taking care of the drinks. His eyes met Avery’s. There was a small smile playing over the corner of his mouth, chased by another unreadably expression before he quickly looked away. With a sigh, Avery heaved themselves up from the couch and went over to sit with the others. They took a seat between Finley and Landry, just as the doors to the kitchen opened one last time and Mason and Hayes came out with the food. Avery’s stomach started rumbling again immediately, while the two set down bowls and plates on the table.  
  
“Mason, that looks amazing as always!”, Avery exclaimed. For the first time this night since the kiss they felt cheerful again. Food had that effect. Mason didn’t say anything, but she looked pleased when she sat down herself.  
“Ah, yes,” Graves chimed in. He was the only one still standing, his glass in hand. “I think a toast is in order.” Everyone quieted down and looked at their boss.  
  
“To all of you, my lovely strays,” he began in his usual grand tone of voice. “What you did for me tonight, I will never forget. Thank you. And thank you especially to Reese, who prepared you so well during my.. absence. And to Avery,” suddenly all pretence had left his voice. He looked at Avery, looked them straight in the eyes, sorrow and affection wrestling for dominance in his expression, “without whom none of us would be here right now,” he finished earnestly.  
  
Avery realised just then that their heart was beating fast again. Oh great, they’d probably turned beet red! They thought that this must have been awkward for everyone else, but were surprised to see that they all murmured little agreements before drinking. The only one who seemed to be bothered by Graves’ speech was Reese, who stared into his glass without taking a sip.  
“Alright.” Mason broke the silence unexpectedly. “Dig in before it gets cold.”  
  


Luckily, everyone came out of their shell again during dinner. They were all still shaken up by the day, by the revelation that was the existence of magic to some, by Nacht’s attack, the magic rust that had spread over most of them. But sitting together, eating, talking, and joking like they had done so many nights before brought them back to some kind of routine. Reese was still silent most of the times – even Hayes talked more than he did.  
  
Finley was already busy planning what she could use her new ‘superpower’ for.  
“Please don’t call it that,” Graves said at one point. “This isn’t one of your videogames.”  
“Are you kidding me?!”, Finley shot back, her eyes gleaming with mischief. “This is exactly like one of my videogames. Now I just need a cool name and a costume! We should form a superhero team, what do you guys say?”  
  
Nobody seemed to be on board with that, even though they quickly began to toss around names. Finley seemed to favour ‘The League of Cursed Cats’. Avery smiled at the thought of Finley turning them all into vigilante fighters for justice in stupid costumes. They felt their eyelids become heavier and heavier. Finally, they put their arms down on the table, rested their head against them and closed their eyes. Just for a little while, they told themselves. Just a little while..


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh, I am so sorry you guys! I know it's been a while but I hope you'll enjoy this update! <3

  
  
They felt like they were floating. There was no up or down, just warm softness all around them. Vaguely they were aware that they had to be somewhere between awake and asleep, but they couldn’t really tell which state they were nearer. They didn’t care. It was warm and comfortable and they were undisturbed…

“Mhrrr.”

The sound brought them considerably closer to awake than asleep but what really closed the deal was the feeling of little paws pressing into their stomach. Well, so much for undisturbed.  
With a groan they lifted their hands to their face, peeling them out of several layers of blankets first.

“Murrh,” came the sound again. The paws continued their business.

“Shut up, Mochi,” Avery mumbled, rubbing their hands over their face. Wait.. Mochi?

“I believe he is trying to tell you that you have rested enough.”

They opened their eyes and would have probably jolted up, were it not for the chubby Persian sitting on their stomach. They were lying on their back, on an unbelievably high amount of pillows – on Graves’s couch. Mochi was sitting on their stomach making biscuits, and now Graves appeared in their field of vision, standing behind the back of the couch.

“Yeah, right,” Avery said with a yawn. “I bet he just wants food.”

“Please, Avery,” Graves said in a theatrically offended tone of voice. “Do you really think that I would ever let a cat go hungry?”

“Nah, Mochi’s just greedy,” they replied with a grin.

Insulted, Mochi let out one last “Mhrr,” before jumping to the ground to go sulk with Dracula, allowing Avery to sit up. They looked at Graves who hadn’t moved.  
“What happened? How did I get up here?” Did Graves carry them up? That thought brought a flush of warmth to their cheeks.  
“Mason carried you up after we all decided to call it a night. We tried to wake you up, well, Finley in particular, but you were sound asleep.”

“Yeah, I don’t even think I dreamed of anything.”

There was a moment of silence, then Graves cleared his throat.  
“Avery.” He circled the couch and sat down at the far end. Avery reluctantly drew their legs closer to their body to make room for him.  
“Concerning last night –“

“Are you going to apologise again?”, Avery interrupted him. “Or are you actually going to tell me what happened yesterday?”  
Graves blinked once, that wonderful smile on his face again.  
“I know my actions last night must have confused you. Please, allow me to explain”

He sounded serious again and Avery found themselves leaning in closer towards him, curious about what he would say next.  
“My actions in those past few days have hardly been appropriate,” Graves continued. His voice sounded.. weird. Like he was forcing himself to say the words. His mismatched eyes looked at Avery, and as it had been so often the case they didn’t know which one to focus on. They decided for the orange one, which seemed to glow with warmth.  
“I know I shouldn’t have given in so easily, Avery, but.. the truth is, you have captivated me since that first day you entered the café. At first I thought I was your.. magic potential, but that wasn’t it, at least not entirely. It was you, Avery Grey.”

His voice still sounded strained but Avery honestly had trouble hearing what he was saying because blood was rushing to their head, filling their ears with a dull ringing. Was he saying..?  
“I tried to do the right thing, to keep the proper distance, but sometimes I couldn’t help but be close to you. And when you started to suspect something was amiss, when you confronted me about this.. I knew I shouldn’t have encouraged you, but at the moment I didn’t care!”  
There was a forcefulness behind those last few words that made their heart leap. Avery leaned in closer, while Graves continued:  
“It is true, I needed your help. I needed you top help the others discover their knack – their magic. But.. I also needed you.”

Avery felt hot, not just because of the pile of blankets they were still sitting under.  
“Then why did you stop?”, they asked, their voice weirdly breathy. “Last night? Why did you pull away?”  
Their hands, they now realised, had found his, and he had started to caress their knuckles again, automatically, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. It felt wonderful.

“I stopped,” Graves began slowly, “because it wasn’t right. Because you are too young, Avery. I told you that I thought you were older when I first saw you.”  
“So that is your problem?”, they asked, disbelieving. “That I am younger than you?”  
“Considerably so, yes.” Graves had lowered his gaze to their hands and his thumb stopped its caressing movement, but he did not let go yet.

“And do you honestly think that I care?”, they asked. “Don’t you think I thought about that, too?” They had literally thought he was a vampire!  
“I don’t care about it, Graves. It’s not like I’m a minor or something, so why should it matter?”

“There are things that we do, Avery.” Graves voice was soft, his gaze slowly lifted from their hands to their face. “Foolish things. Things we come to regret when we are older.”  
He took a deep breath and continued:  
“As the older one of the two of us, it was my responsibility to stop this. I just didn’t want you to feel later on like I tricked you into something you didn’t want. I.. I do know what it feels like to be ensnared by another.”  
For a moment Avery looked at him, not understanding. Then it hit them.

“Nacht…,” they whispered. Graves nodded.  
Suddenly, his behaviour made that much more sense. Avery had already gathered that he and Nacht must have been close once, probably some time ago when they were younger. That, together with Nacht’s comment the other night: “Ain’t you ever heard’a that rule? Half your age plus-“  
Damn him! He would not win this, not after they had beaten him!

“Look, whatever happened between you and Nacht, this is not the same. You’re not Nacht, I’m not you. This is not some stupid thing I’m going to regret later on. Graves.” They’d moved closer to him yet again. “I want this. I already told you: I want you.” Wow, had they really just staid that? Yes. Yes, they had. They could see the tension going through Graves’ body. He lifted a hand to their cheek, his orange-and-blue eyes fixed on theirs.  
“Are you certain?”, he asked in a low voice. “Is this truly what you want?”  
Relief flooded through them.

“Yes,” they breathed, their heart beating fast again. “And now you better kiss me, or I can’t promise I won’t tear out your collar cuffs this time.”

Graves smiled that smile that made them feel warm all over. He tilted their head back slightly and then his mouth was on theirs, a soft sigh on his lips. His tongue ever so gently slid into their mouth. Avery found it hard to breathe. They felt Graves move closer and all too willingly they laid back down on the couch. Graves’ right hand stroked through their hair, the left he placed on their knee. Avery grabbed his collar again. Maybe they would tear out his cuffs!

They couldn’t tell how much time passed, only that Graves drew back eventually, slightly out of breath. He locked eyes with them, while caressing their flushed cheek.  
“As much as it pains me to say,” he began with his usual grand air, “I’m afraid the others will ask themselves what happened to us, if we don’t go downstairs soon.”  
Avery blinked. The others?

“Wait. So.. the others are all downstairs right now?” Graves nodded.  
“I asked them all to come in today. We still have some important business to discuss. I’m sure they are all here by now. I wouldn’t be surprised, if one of them came up to check on us soon.”

“Oh.” Avery let that sink in for a second. “Oh!” They sat up upright, throwing the blankets away from them.  
“Then we should get going, right?” The thought of Finley or Reese bursting through the door to catch them in this position..  
“Just let me take a quick shower and I’ll be good to go!”


End file.
